Quack!
by DonaldDouglasandToby6
Summary: The big engines take advantage of Duck's incident at Tidmouth Tunnel, and Duck tries to redeem himself.


Duck the Great Western Engine doesn't stand any nonsense from the big engines, which makes the trio cross.

"He never listens to us..." said James.

One day, Duck was just puffing out of Tidmouth Tunnel when a family of ducks started to cross the tracks.

Duck stopped immediately.

"Let's wheesh them away," he suggested.

The driver agreed, so he let off steam.

Duck tried to wheesh them away, not knowing that the mother duck was Dilly.

Dilly was cross. She quacked at Duck and flew up on his boiler and started pecking it.

"Ow, all right! All right! I'll wait!" cried Duck.

Satisfied, Dilly flew back down and guided the ducklings towards a puddle of water.

Soon, they were out of the way and Duck puffed on. But now he was late.

"Bother..."

At Tidmouth, Gordon was cross.

"Where were you? I can't keep myself delayed, you know." he said angrily.

"I'm sorry, Gordon, but a family of ducks was crossing the tracks and one came up and pecked at me! I had to wait for them to cross." said Duck, embarrassed.

Gordon laughed and puffed away to tell Henry and James.

Soon, the word spread and by the time Duck got back to Tidmouth Sheds that night, the trio of big engines were laughing their buffers off.

"He waddles all the time," joked Gordon.

"Not to mention he lays eggs..." snickered James.

"Quack! Quack!" chortled Henry.

Duck was furious.

The next day. Henry, Gordon, and James were at Tidmouth, shunting their coaches.

Duck arrived to shunt a goods train to take to the Small Railway.

The big engines saw their chance for a tease.

"QUACK! QUACK! Quack! Quack! Quack! WHEEEEEESSSSSH!" the engines hissed. Pretty soon, it was just like Duck's first day on the island, with the big engines laughing at him.

Duck felt very silly.

"Oh, stop it! I won't have it!"

"Whatever, Quackers!" teased Henry.

"Go lay an egg!" teased James.

"A duck meeting Duck! How ironic is that? It probably wants you to quack off!" added Gordon.

Duck slowly puffed away with his ballast.

At Arlesburgh, Bert and Jock were waiting with the trucks full of ballast.

"I'm a little bit sick of waiting for Duck every day..." mumbled Jock, "I wanna pull passengers!"

"All in due time," soothed Bert.

Duck blew his whistle.

"Oh here he comes now."

Duck sadly puffed into Arlesburgh with his empty trucks.

He backed under the shoot while Bert shunted his trucks into place.

The ballast filled the trucks. but Duck was so sad he didn't even notice. But Jock did.

"Come on, Duck. The guard's going to blow his whistle any minute now."

Duck jumped.

"Oh, uh, right..."

Rex puffed in with some passengers and noticed Duck's frown.

"What's wrong, Duck?"

Duck sighed.

"Nothing, just the big engines."

The guard blew his whistle and Duck puffed sadly away.

Rex looked worriedly to Bert and Jock.

"What do you think he meant by that?" he asked.

"Search me," replied Jock.

Duck was still in low spirits when he arrived at Haulthraugh, where Douglas was with some passengers.

"Hello, Duck. Ye look a bit doon."

Duck sighed.

"Those big engines always know how to make me upset."

"Ya mean they know how to 'ruffle yer feathers.'" joked Douglas.

Duck scoffed indignantly.

"Nay Duck, I'm only joking. They say teasey things to ye?"

"Yes," replied Duck.

"Weel, here's my advice. Why don't ya remind them of their accidents? That works for me." said Douglas.

Duck thought about it.

"Huh, that's pretty good. But I won't see them for the rest of the day."

"Och, then do it tomorrow," puffed Douglas impatiently.

Duck groaned and puffed away, leaving Douglas with his train.

That night. Duck puffed sadly to his branch line shed, where Oliver was waiting.

"What's the matter, Duck? Those big engines tough on you?"

"Yes." replied Duck, "Sometimes they're just so immature. But it seems I can't deal with them like I used to. It makes me angry just to think about it."

"I know what to do, Duck! I'll do it tomorrow." said Oliver.

"What's the plan?" but Oliver already went to sleep, leaving a worried Duck awake.

The next day, Duck was puffing along his branch line when he noticed a flood on the track.

"Driver, stop!" he cried.

The driver put on the brakes, but Duck just had his wheels oiled and they couldn't stop.

"Help!" wailed Duck as he splashed into the water. Duck's fire suddenly went out due to the water.

A family of ducks were swimming there.

The mother quacked at Duck and started to peck at him again.

The driver went back for help, while the passengers got out and shooed the ducks away.

"Be off!" they shouted.

Dilly quacked crossly and she and her ducklings flew off.

The driver phoned the yard for Oliver.

Soon, Oliver arrived to pull Duck back onto the rails.

"Oh, no. Not again!" he laughed.

Duck blushed.

"I, uh, had an accident."

Oliver chuckled.

"Going for a swim, eh? Leave that to real ducks. Let's get you out of here before you rust."

Soon, Oliver pulled Duck and his coaches back on the rails, out of the flood.

"Thank you, Oliver. Ugh, those big engines will tease me for sure though."

"No, they won't! I talked to the Fat Controller, and he's talked to them. They'll apologize to you later today."

Duck felt much better, but then his driver spoke up.

"We better alert the signalman about that flood though."

"Good idea," replied Duck and he puffed away.

At a signalbox, Duck whistled to get the signalman's attention. '

"Signalman! There's a flood on the tracks! You should switch the points before somebody splashes into the flood!"

Just then, Douglas' whistle was heard.

"Hurry!" shouted Duck.

"Right away," boomed the signalman and he pulled a lever.

Douglas was surprised.

"Och, a flood's up ahead! Stop!"

His driver put on the brakes as Douglas raced past the flood and onto a siding.

"What? How did that happen?" wondered Douglas, then saw Duck ahead.

"Aye, thank ya Duck!"

Duck felt proud.

"No problem, Douglas! Better warn the Fat Controller about that flood."

"I'll warn Sir Topham Hatt right away." said the signalman.

Later that day, at Tidmouth Sheds, Douglas told the big engines all about Duck's heroic deed.

"Impossible!" sputtered Gordon.

"It's true, I saw the whole thing.' said Oliver as Duck backed into the shed.

"It's all part of doing the Great Western Way..." smiled Duck.

"I suppose we owe you an apology..." sighed Henry.

"Sorry," said the big engines and Duck fell happily to sleep.


End file.
